Did you know - Tropical Cyclones were named after disliked politicians?

in #weather • 6 years ago (edited)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie
Did you know, tropical cyclones in the Australian region were originally named after disliked politicians?

Image: Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie approaches Australia's Queensland coast on 28 March 2017 as captured by NASA's MODIS Terra satellite. Wikimedia Commons

According to legend, this practice started in the late 1890s by flamboyant Queensland meteorologist Clement Wragge, who was known for his "mop of flaming red hair and explosive temper to match". Wragge named tropical cyclones, along with intense low-pressure systems, after politicians he didn't like, and when they objected, he started naming them after their wives.

It wasn't until World War 2 when US Navy and Army Air Corps meteorologists informally gave tropical cyclones in the northwest Pacific basin women's names. During the 1963–64 tropical cyclone season, Australia adopted the convention of naming tropical storms from a pre-defined approved list of female names; the first name assigned was Tropical Cyclone Bessie on 6 January 1964. The current convention of alternating male and female names was implemented in 1975.

References:

  1. Bureau of Meteorology - Tropical Cyclone FAQ
  2. Wikipedia - List of historical tropical cyclone names
  3. The Sydney Morning Herald - How Australia's first weather chart predicted a hunger for forecasts
#science #didyouknow #cyclone #education
6 years ago in #weather by
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     6 years ago 

    Very interesting information, do they have certain things rule for Spanish/English names or are they translated somewhat? As funny fact in Costa Rica where I live there is a thinking that the worst huracans and tropical cyclones with female names are the ones that caused more damage.

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     6 years ago 

    Thanks @raserrano ! For Australian Tropical Cyclones, the Bureau of Meteorology maintains a list of names (arranged alphabetically and alternating male and female). A name remains on the list until its corresponding cyclone severely impacts the coast (e.g. Larry and Vance). The name is then permanently retired and replaced with another (of the same gender and first letter). It can take over 10 years from the time a name is put on the list to when it is first used to name a cyclone.
    A list of names used can be found here
    That is an interesting fact! I wonder what the occurrence of severe tropical cyclones in Australia have female names...

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       6 years ago 

      Thanks I will check the links later

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